Ordinary diners who take part in our annual survey each spring review restaurants and leave their feedback, but we also ask them to score restaurants from 1-5 on food, service and ambience. Harden’s then uses an average of these scores and measures them against other establishments in the same price bracket to arrive at the ratings published in the guide and online.

Snippets from some of your feedback may end up in the overall Harden’s review, noticeably they appear in “double quotation marks”. The rest of our pithy, bite-sized restaurant summaries are compiled by analysing the survey data and extracting recurring themes, looking at whether or not a venue was nominated in any of our categories – like ‘favourite’ or ‘most overpriced’ – and, of course, looking at the ratings for food, service and ambience.

The Harden’s ratings indicate that a restaurant is:

exceptional very good good average poor

All reviews are compiled from survey comments and ratings, without any regard for our own personal opinions, except in cases where restaurants are too new to have been included in the survey. If you want the editors’ view on new restaurants in London you can find them in our Editors’ Review section.

Veteran Pimlico Chinese, run by Mr Peng Sr and Mr Peng Jr, famed for its banquet-style service

Harden's
survey result

Summary

“Truly one-of-a-kind” – the Peng family’s Pimlico stalwart “continues to surprise and tantalise with its amazing” cooking and is an “all-time favourite” for many reporters, as well as regularly topping the list of London’s best Chinese restaurants. “Don’t ask for the menu” – “let Mr Peng or his son Michael decide what you should be served with” – a never-ending stream of tapas-sized dishes (if you don’t like one, you won’t go hungry as plenty more will arrive). Typically results are “brilliant”, and there’s a “huge wine list that’s amazingly well-suited to spicy food”.

Price

£94

££££

Food

5

Exceptional

Service

2

Average

Ambience

1

Poor

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Summary

“The food keeps on coming until you stay ‘stop’!” – “a seemingly never-ending stream of perfectly judged dishes” – at this Pimlico veteran, where “Mr Peng decides what you’ll eat, and my goodness he is right!” It’s “Russian roulette but fantastic if you’re not a fussy eater” and regularly scores as “the best Chinese in London (if not the planet)”. The room itself is “slightly odd” and “minor language problems” can impede the service, but overall it’s “a genius way to have a social meal”. “The wine list is pretty amazing too!” – “thoughtfully matched, with lots of Germanic and other aromatic whites, including a number of excellent mature Rieslings”.

Price

£93

££££

Food

5

Exceptional

Service

2

Average

Ambience

1

Poor

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Summary

“Leave all the ordering to Mr Peng Jr and you won’t be disappointed” at this “packed and pedestrian-looking” Pimlico veteran – London’s No. 1 Chinese. Expect “a happy adventure” of “course after delectable course” of “tastebud tingling and multi-textured” small dishes “until you can’t eat any more… and then the next three courses arrive” (all matched with “excellent, affordable wines”). The “enthusiastic” vibe set up by the “jolly” father and son team who run the place seals the experience.

Price

£80

££££

Food

5

Exceptional

Service

4

Very Good

Ambience

1

Poor

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Summary

“Let the owner order for you”, then sit back for “a roller coaster ride of endless one-mouthful plates” when you visit this “cramped” Pimlico veteran. The “truly original and exciting” cooking is arguably “London’s best Chinese food” and the Peng family’s “haphazard, grace-under-pressure” service helps create “an experience like no other”.

Price

£79

££££

Food

5

Exceptional

Service

2

Average

Ambience

1

Poor

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

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Hunan Restaurant Diner Reviews

Reviews of Hunan Restaurant in SW1, London by users of Hardens.com. Also see the editors review of Hunan restaurant.

dermot o

On a recent trip the food keeps this as one...

Reviewed 3 months, 10 days ago

"On a recent trip the food keeps this as one of the best Chinese restaurants in London and Michael is a great host. The place always has a good buzz to it."

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Grant P

lots of nice surprises though very expensiv...

Reviewed 4 months,

"lots of nice surprises though very expensive for a Chinese served in a corridor."

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Jeffrey B

Great food but only serving full fixed menu...

Reviewed 5 months, 5 days ago

"Great food but only serving full fixed menu in the evening - far too much food"